How faults in system emerged

Thursday 21 February 2013

January 2008

January 2008

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Then health secretary Nicola Sturgeon introduces new NHS waiting times regime. It is designed not to penalise patients from being treated within target times if they cancel or do not accept a reasonable offer of an appointment due to medical or social reasons.

April 2010

New pledge to treat 90% or more of all inpatients and day patients within 18 weeks of being referred to hospital. The previous target was 21 weeks. Concerns later raised in Scottish Parliament about accuracy of information recorded in NHS Lothian following media reports that patients were marked down as unavailable if they did not accept appointments offered in England.

March 2012

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon "shocked and extremely angry" after an external review finds NHS Lothian marking patients as unavailable to artificially reduce the number of waiting patients.

As fallout from the NHS scandal continues, patients get the extra safeguard of a 12-week Treatment Time Guarantee enshrined in law.

December 2012

Two NHS executives suspended from NHS Tayside after preliminary findings by Audit Scotland were reported to management. Patients in Grampian were allegedly phoned at home during the day – with no messages left – to fix appointment.

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